THE war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic was thrown into question yesterday after doctors said that the health of the former Yugoslav President was deteriorating.

Judge Patrick Robinson, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, adjourned the trial just as Mr Milosevic was to begin presenting his defence, saying: “The time has come for a radical review of the trial process in light of the health problems of the accused, which are clearly recurrent.”

The court is expected to rule today on whether to halt the proceedings, impose legal counsel on Mr Milosevic, 62, or simply give him more time to rest to reduce his high blood pressure.

He is conducting his own defence against 66 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, during the wars in the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Mr Milosevic’s heart condition and his aggressive defence tactics have dragged- out the trial, which began in February 2002, raising doubts about the effectiveness of the international tribunal.

Although doctors said that the former Serbian leader had dangerously high blood pressure, Mr Milosevic, who refuses to recognise the court, appeared in his usual combative form, interrupting the proceedings with wordy diatribes against his accusers.

Wearing a grey suit and red tie, he accused the judges of inflicting physical mistreatment on him comparable with the Spanish Inquisition.

“My deterioration is the direct result of your refusal to enable me to get my health back. You have not given me adequate time for rest,” he said. “You brought me into the court today not for legal reasons but to play in the realm of politics and media.”

Steven Kay, a British barrister who is acting as a “friend of the court” in Mr Milosevic’s interests, asked the judges to consider whether he was fit enough to stand trial at all.

Mr Milosevic made no such request, saying that he was determined to present his case. He would refuse any attempt to force him to accept defence counsel — a move requested by Geoffrey Nice, the British prosecutor in the trial, as a way of sparing his blood pressure.

Observers said that it was unlikely that the trial would be halted, but it was possible that sessions could be reduced to two days a week and a defence counsel appointed.

The result would inevitably be further delay to a trial which is showing signs of becoming an embarrassment for the international community.

The organisers of the Iraqi trial of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad are studying the Milosevic proceedings closely to avoid the pitfalls of the UN trial, with its rambling proceedings and opportunities for the accused to perform to the public.

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